Presentation from Partners in Innovation Policy Forum in Denver, CO on September 28, 2010.

1. Livable Centers Initiative

2. Who is ARC
ARC and its predecessor agencies have been at the
forefront of regional planning in the U.S. since it’s
creation in 1947.
• Governmental Services
• Aging Services
• Workforce Development
• Research & Data
• Commute Connections
• Environmental Planning
• Transportation Planning
• Land Use Planning
• Leadership Development

3.  Regional
Commission
 Metropolitan
Planning
Organization
 Metro North
Georgia Water
Planning District
 Workforce Board
 Area Agency on
Aging (AAA)

4. Atlanta Urbanized Area
1950
1970
1990
2000

5. Urban Expansion Without Services

6. Importance of Centers and Corridors

7. LCI Program Overview
• Encourages local governments to plan and
implement strategies that link transportation
improvements with development
• Planning grants provided to develop studies
• Program links implementation actions to receipt of
transportation project funding
• Takes advantage of existing infrastructure in
centers & corridors

8. • Mix of land uses
• Multiple transportation modes
• Public involvement

9. LCI Authorization
Resolution adopted by ARC Board in 1999 creating LCI.
Additional approvals in 2004 and 2009.
• $13 million for studies over 13 years
• $500 million for transportation projects
• Focus on activity
centers, town
centers, corridors
• Uses STP-Urban
(L230) funds

10. 11 counties and 52 cities with an LCI study
Atlanta – 18
Cherokee – 4
Clayton – 6
Cobb – 11
DeKalb – 19
Douglas – 2
Fayette – 2
Fulton – 16
Gwinnett – 14
Henry – 3
Rockdale – 2
Outside – 10
Total – 107

11. Studies
Full LCI Study Supplemental LCI Study

12. LCI Transportation Funding
• FY03 first year transportation funds available
• $169 million programmed between FY 2003-2011 for
design, right-of-way and construction projects
• Funds distributed to 96 projects in 53 LCI
communities
• 49 projects are authorized for construction or have
been completed to date

13. Perimeter Center Parkway
Before

14. Decatur MARTA Plaza

15. Stockbridge US 23

16. LCI Transportation Projects
Morrow
Chamblee Suwanee

17. Public Engagement

18. LCI Evaluation Reports

19. Development Numbers
• LCI communities reported 1,148 developments:
• 762 are complete
• 222 are planned
• 164 under construction
The LCI developments result in:
• 84,506 residential units
• 12,329 hotel units
• Over 19 million sq ft of commercial retail space
• Over 38 million sq ft of office space

20. Development Numbers
• Regional Development Comparison
• (completed development only)
2008 Regional Comparison
Development 2000-2007 Housing (Units) Commercial (sq ft) Office (sq ft)
335,138 38,912,381 32,016,187
13 County Development (Source: Co-Star)
Land Area: 2,450,762 Acres
26,645 8,185,449 21,411,504
LCI 13 County- Completed Developments
Land Area: 83,224 Acres
LCI % of 13 County Development 7.95% 21.04% 66.88%
Land Area: 3.4%
*13 Counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton

21. Development Examples
Hapeville
Morrow Woodstock

22. Development Examples
City Center (GSU) Buckhead
Suwanee

23. Chamblee MARTA Parking Lot

24. Policies and Regulations
• 92% of LCI communities have adopted their LCI Study
into their comprehensive plan
• 66% have special LCI zoning districts
• 56% of those surveyed reported having policies in
their comprehensive plan that focus on building more
senior, workforce, or special needs housing
• 83% have design guidelines in place to ensure that
new development supports a livable, walkable
environment

25. Hwy 78 Build-Out Modeling

26. Emissions from VMT
6,000
5,000
4,000
CO2 lbs per capita per year
3,000
Existing Land Use
2,000 LCI Plan
1,000
-

27. Lessons Learned
• Federal transportation funds offer flexibility to
create LCI type programs
• LCI has allowed ARC to engage local governments
in detailed planning
• Incentive to implement Regional Development
Plan policies
• Smart Growth concepts have applicability in every
place
• Change takes time

28. Questions?
Tom Weyandt
Director of Comprehensive Planning
Atlanta Regional Commission
40 Courtland Street
Atlanta, GA
404-463-3250
tweyandt@atlantaregional.com
www.atlantaregional.com/lci